West of the Moon
by amandald98
Summary: Lizzy has found a cure to a plague that's threatening to wipe out the universe. Will isn't impressed. Title change pending once I can think of a better one.
1. Chapter 1

__**A/N: This is my lovely NaNoWriMo story, which means it's already finished. :). Unfortunately, it was not originally written as a fanfic, so some major plot changes need to be made. Other than that, I'll be updating about every week, or when I can get to an actual computer. Enjoy!**

_Prologue_

When man settled the planets, a lethal force was unleashed. Its power was unknown, its mystery unparalleled. In fact, this mighty force was not known at all. And when man became greedy for knowledge and resources, it reared its ugly head in a series of sicknesses, which became known as the Great Plague. The scientists worked quickly to save their people, but they were not quick enough. The plague wiped out several billion people before they could harness its power.

Our story takes place in 2235 A.D. The scientists of the galaxy have begun once again to find a cure to the new strain of the virus, Galaxia Pestis. Millions die each day. The universe has begun to collapse. The great power is growing stronger. Many wonder if the human race will survive.

_Chapter 1_

Thankfully, they had saved the samples from the last outbreak. The scientists ran around the harshly-lit lab, in a tornado of movement, picking up vials for testing, taking calls from various medical centers located throughout Athemin, and putting samples in the containment chamber. The frenzy was tense, moving as though through sheer will power and not of any desire to be there.

"That's another one!" yelled Lucretia Simmons across the room to whoever would listen, "145KPS. We're up to 163 strains, and counting."

The intern quickly copied this down and got back to playing his InterGalactic Space Battles game.

In the middle of it all sat Will Saper.

"Yes, I know… We're testing the G. Pestis… If we could go any faster, we would!" he said angrily into the GalxiPhone, eliciting some anxious looks from the other people in the room. "Unless you know of another lab that's agreed to stay up until all hours endangering their lives for a cause that seems pointless, you can…"

"Dr. Saper?" asked Cammie Paveras.

He held his hand up and listened impatiently to the person on the other end of the line. "Yeah… Okay, 'bye." Saper put down the phone and turned to Cammie. "What?"

"The president of the Galactic Chemical Society is on the vidSern," she said, "Apparently it's urgent."

"What is it now? Flying monkeys? People on Glameca learning their ABC's?" Will grumbled, but went to the side of the lab where the vidSern was set up.

"Nice to see you, Dr. Saper," said the president.

"'Ello, Mr. President," said Will, "Having a good time yet? I heard outbreaks are becoming breakfast to all us scientists."

"No, they're lunch and dinner too," the other replied, rubbing his head. "Listen, Will… Something's come up.

"Get on with it," muttered Will, thumbing through some files disinterestedly. As long as it didn't involve more interns, he was fine with it.

"So, do you know Lizzy Sapux from Celius?"

"The name seems vaguely familiar."

"She's heading the Astronomical Society's infectious disease unit."

Will laughed. "Why would _they _have an IDU?"

"You may laugh now, but just wait till you read the file I sent you. Apparently, they found evidence that there may be some sort of fungi that counteracts the affects of the plague. And it's only on 115X."

"And you believe them? Come on, the woman's from Celius. She's probably just out to gain some fame or, you know, spend the government's money."

"Come on, Will. She's published a bunch of great papers on the star cluster in Erlta II. Just because she comes from Celius doesn't mean anything."

"So make me sound like a stereotyping idiot. Just don't be upset when it all turns out to be a fluke. And besides, does she have the proof?"

"The proof is in there, if you would ever bother to check your comms. And it's not going to be a fluke. I can promise you that."

Will rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"Hey, Lizzy!" called the president to someone off screen, "I've got the almighty Will Saper on the VS."

"Really?" grumbled Will, "What's with the 'almighty?'"

"Hey there," said a woman, who had just come into view on the vidSern. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lizzy." He could detect something forced in her speech, but could only wonder why.

"Hello, Ms. Sapux," said Will.

"That's _Doctor _Sapux, to you," she joked, "No, really. Just call me Lizzy. It'll make thing a lot easier.

"Hi, Lizzy. I'm Will Saper."

"Ah, the all-knowing chemist. Tell me, how many unis did you pay for that article?" she inquired, half-jokingly.

"What article?" queried Will.

"The one on the front of Galaxy Times? This past Tuesday? Or what's that in Universal… I think it was 30:24 Universal."

"Never saw that one. We've been holed up in the lab since 30:16. Bloody outbreaks…"

"I heard there were 10,00 killed last night alone."

"And how are you doing anything about it?"

Lizzy seemed to stiffen at this.

"I just mean that it seems completely pointless to be an astronomer in a time like this. Don't you have a BA in general sciences?"

"Yeah, but this is the only job I can do well from home."

"Haven't you ever wanted to travel the galaxy?"

"Not when my father is dying slowly of the plague, no."

Will blinked in surprise. "I'm really sorry to hear about that."

"Nah, it's okay. He's three hundred and sixty-six. Not many get to live that long," replied Lizzy. Will suspected she was just putting on a brave front, but didn't comment on it.

"So what's with the whole fungus thing?" asked Will, going back to a slightly lighter topic.

"I found evidence of _fungor vigoratus _in the soil a while back, but didn't really think to examine the results of my surface testing until all this plague stuff started happening. It's rarely found throughout the galaxy, and it seems the soil has some sort of antibody that can reverse the affects of the plague."

"Sounds cool, but as far as I know, no one's gone to 115X besides the natives…. And I'm assuming those are shrubberies or something."

"Shrubberies there may be, but not likely. The atmosphere can barely maintain everything on the planet, much less shrubberies."

The president came back on the screen. "Will, we've got to go. There's a problem with the main generator on our side, and I need Lizzy to fix it up."

"Bye," said Will.

"Check your comm!" said the president, fading away with his image.

Will peered into his pocket and pulled out the small black device. "Comm, any new messages?"

"Two new messages, Dr. Saper. Would you like me to read them to you?"

"Please," muttered the scientist, and went back to his original table where he continued to run through lab reports.

"The message from the president of the GCS says that you have to go to a meeting on D'lus for the GCS Plague Committee meeting. Would you like to schedule an appointment?"

"Go ahead."

"The message from Lizzy Sapux contains classified information. I cannot read this to you."

"Read it anyways."

"I'm sorry sir, I just can't do that."

Will chucked the device across the room, where the intern was sitting. It beaned him in the back of the head.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yeah, that was a bit more than a week. :( But I'll try harder to get to the computer. I'm messing with the formatting, so the chapter may be on and offline for a bit. **Reviews are appreciated!**

Lizzy was tired. Tired of working for an astronomical society that never got anything done beyond speculating, tired of fixing generators because nobody else could. Truth be told, she _did _want a vacation. But the arrogance of that man!

Her shoes squeaked on the tiled floors as she walked towards the recreation area. She could already tell another rousing karaoke session was going before she opened the soundproof door. Long afternoons had just taken on a new meaning.

She found the president again sitting by a window, drinking a glass of Celiade, which was the worst beverage in the galaxy, but one would do anything for the cultural experience.

"How's the Celiade?" she asked.

"It's actually quite good. I don't know what all this talk about it being the worst drink in the galaxy is. It's probably one of the best!" His words were slightly slurred. There was no accounting for his credibility this afternoon.

"Have you gotten anything new from the Galactic Plague Prevention Society?" she asked.

"No. They just wanna know when we're gonna find the cure. Ha! Like we're ever gonna find one. Even with Will and his gang of idiots on Athemin we're gonna get nowhere. Might as well just sit here and watch people die."

"You're the president of the most prestigious medical society ever! You can't just give up!"

"Nah, only chemical. Although really, we are basically a medical center. No one needs chemists…" He drifted off into a forlorn silence.

Lizzy walked to the other side of the room, where she ordered lemonade. The sugar was necessary if she wanted to get the group of scientists President Rockwell had suggested together. Then she picked up her comm and began spitting out commands.

"Comm, call everyone on the list made twenty minutes ago. Put them on speaker."

"Will do, Ma'am."

"Who is this, and why are you waking me up at 30:46:05:30? It's too early to be comming," mumbled a voice.

"Hey, Char," said Lizzy, "Thanks for picking up. This is Lizzy."

"Not like I had a choice, now did I? The thing starts going off like no one's business unless you answer it. Oh, hi Lizzy. You haven't called in forever."

"Sorry, it's mid afternoon here and I've just been speaking to a scientist who's been up 'round the clock for a cure."

"It seems completely pointless to try and fix the plague. Everyone knows another one's just going to pop up again, and then we'll have another generation of sleep deprived scientists."

"Well, that's what I'm comming you about."

"You _know _I don't work like that."

"The president of the GCS suggested you. I had to try, at least."

"She's right, you know." This was Will.

"Hey, Will," said Lizzy, "Is not announcing your presence something you do to get new drugs introduced more quickly? Do you recommend the practice?"

"Be quiet," he said.

"Hey, Lizzy, are you going to that conference on D'lus?" asked Char.

"Of course! If we're going to have a mission to 115X, that's the place to do it," she replied.

"Who said anything about a mission?" queried Will.

"I did," replied Lizzy.

"I thought you said you couldn't get away from home!"

"Well... Exceptions can be made, you know."

"What's up?" asked Richard.

"Hi, Richard!" cried Lizzy. She sat down in a chair in her room, which she had been walking to while the comm hovered in front of her.

"Where've you been, Lizzy? Same thing for you, Jane! I haven't been able to contact either of you!" said Richard.

"Oh, you know, just researching fungi on a planet that no one's discovered, that kind of stuff," said Lizzy sarcastically.

"Hmmm… No, I haven't heard anything about that at all, especially in the news." Richard could give as good as he got.

"No one would bother to introduce me to this 'Richard' character," muttered Will impatiently. Muffled, but still recognizable, "Don't put the monkey wrenches in with the monkeys! They try to start a rebellion if you do that! No—I just said NOT to do that!"

"Oh, right," said Lizzy, "Hey Will, you got that monkey problem fixed?"

"Okay, I'm good now," replied Will.

"Now for grand introductions: Char Beniss, Richardricke Trusent the third, meet Will Saper of Athemin. Will, they're Char and Richard," replied Lizzy.

"Hi everyone," said Will.

"Don't call me Richardricke!" said Richard, sounding bemusedly angry, "Oh, hi Will."

"'Ello," said Char, "Now can we get this over with so I can go back to bed?"

"Okay. Here's the thing. You know the fungus info I sent you via comms?" asked Lizzy.

"Ummm… What info?" asked Richard.

"No one checks their comms any more," grumbled Lizzy, "Basically I found a lovely little planet called 115X that has this nice fungi that may or may not have healing powers."

"Right…" Richard said, "That's what you're talking about."

"So I think we should go there," said Lizzy.

A stunned silence overcame the comms, save the yells from the various scientists from Will's end ("I _told _you not to put that into the radioactive drawer!")

"What exactly are you suggesting?" asked Will icily.

"That we go to planet 115X," replied Lizzy, who was wondering how someone could be so thick.

"Who exactly is 'us'?" asked Char.

"Me, you, Will, and Richard."

"Lizzy…" This was drawn out and _almost _whiney. "I can't go to some marshy planet to look for fungus! I specialize in Psychology, not biology or medicine!" said Char.

"Join the club," groaned Will, "Just because chemists are so gullible doesn't mean we have to do all the dirty work!"

"I guess I'm the only one game for this," said Richard, "C'mon guys, this is stupid. You're complaining about saving the entire galaxy?"

"No duh," said Char, "Why us?"

"We're the only ones with information," said Lizzy.

"Your discovery has been publicized in any good newspaper in the country. Some scientist is probably already planning to take a mosey on over there and get the fungus," replied Char.

"Hey, I hadn't heard of all this til today," commented Will.

"Unsocial freaks," muttered Char.

"Lazy psychologist," replied Will.

"Hey, guys! Stop with the insults! We have to do this whether you like it or not," said Richard.

"I'll just battle this out with you later," said Lizzy, sighing in frustration, "Just read the files for me, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Char. Lizzy imagined she was mock saluting.

"Okay," said Will, "But fungus is kind of a stupid cure, you know."

"Just like we think 'space shuttles' are stupid now. When humans still lived on Earth, they thought they were the best thing since the microchip."

"If we do find this fungus and it doesn't work, you've just screwed up the entire plan for a cure that anyone's ever had."

"But, you see, it's the only one."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'll make a glossary at some point, because some of the terms are confusing.

Chapter 3

iIt's the only one we've got. It's the only one we've got./i The thought seemed to take control over Will's brain. It tormented him throughout the cleaning of the lab. It itched at the back of his mind during the seemingly endless walk down the hall towards the docking bay. It was his only thought as he watched the infinite sky pass by his window on the way to the meeting. This was why he decided to comm Lizzy.

"Lizzy," he said quickly.

"Hey, Dr. S," she replied.

"I've changed my mind about this whole thing. I'll go."

Once again silence overtook the waves.

"What?" asked Will.

"I kinda thought you wouldn't agree. At least not without a fight," she responded. "Usually you chemists are the most unmoving people I have to persuade to do anything."

"Listen, I'm landing soon, maybe another two star paces away. We need to get the funding for this project. Start writing up something and I'll look at it as soon as I reach the ground."

"Okay, sounds good."

The line went dead, and Will was left to contemplate how the day was going to turn out.

Thankfully for him, it was rather uneventful. Uneventful for a scientist, however, is about as uneventful as a meteor hitting one's planet.

Lizzy had finished a rough draft of the proposal for the board of the GCS and the AS. It was, as the name states, very rough. Although she had written proposals for legislation before, she hadn't written a bill so quickly in her life.

"No, not another loophole," she muttered, crossing out a few lines and inserting a completely different sentence.

The line went dead, and Will was left to contemplate how the day was going to turn out.

Thankfully for him, it was rather uneventful. Uneventful for a scientist, however, is about as uneventful as a meteor hitting one's planet.

Lizzy had finished a rough draft of the proposal for the board of the GCS and the AS. It was, as the name states, very rough.

"No, not another loophole," she muttered, crossing out a few lines and inserting a completely different sentence.

"It looked fine to me." Char was peering over her shoulder in slight interest, "You just have to put in that no expandability clause or whatever."

"Why didn't I think of that?" she muttered, adding another article to her already ten page long proposal.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Char.

"Will said he's about two star paces away, so he'll be here in a sec. I think Richard probably got lost somewhere in the building."

"Why haven't you commed them?"

"When I'm instructed to write a proposal for funding in less than ten minutes, do you think I have time to comm errant members of our group?"

"Hello? It's called 'multitasking'?"

"I'm a horrid multitasker."

Will came running over from around a corner.

"Lizzy is having trouble multitasking. Would you mind comming Richard for her? I'm helping her with the finishing touches on her paper," replied Char.

Will rolled his eyes.

"Hurry up already! The president and the board are due to arrive any minute. And then where would we be? No proposal, no money. Get on with it!"

"Fine, fine."

While Will walked off to comm Richard, Char helped Lizzy salvage the rest of her paper.

"It's as good as it's going to get," said Lizzy, dusting the eraser off her hands.

"Only one pencil and half an eraser later," commented Char.

"Hello, everyone!" said Richard. "Char, have you finally seen the error of your ways?"

"There was no 'error in my ways!' I simply didn't want to go on a trip to hunt down mold!" she said.

"Hey-" said Lizzy, slightly miffed at her fungus being called mold.

"-but now I totally want to go on this trip! It might earn me some unis, right?" Char asked.

"Well, I can't guarantee that," said Lizzy cautiously, "The societies are probably only going to fund the pod and the equipment. You're basically doing this out of charity for people who have the plague."

"Oh well," she sighed, "It was worth a try, right?"

"There's always the Galaxy Science Prize, though. You could get the prize money from that," commented Will, "And why are you so strapped for unis? I thought shrinks got paid good money!"

"Not when no one needs a shrink anymore. The comms work wonders for mental health, apparently."

"Not that I wouldn't mind a bit of money, either," said Richard, "But come on, this is the entire galaxy we're talking about here!"

"Sheesh, dude. I already agreed to go on this stupid trip. If I hadn't, that paper would still look the way it did twenty minutes ago.

"Hey! It wasn't that bad. I just forgot the no expandability clause."

The president of the GCS showed up, looking slightly ruffled and tired, eyes bloodshot. "Where's the board?"

"They're not here yet," said Lizzy impatiently, "Neither is the president of my organization. You'd think these high ranking officials might be a bit more punctual."

"I heard there's some sort of battle going on on Zels. Do you think that might be it?" asked Richard.

"Probably. All of the board for the AS is on Zels. They're probably reading signs or something right now," she said disgustedly.

"Don't ask me where the GCS is," said Will, "They're probably still investigating the spill of one of our samples at the lab a couple of days ago." He walked over to a wall and leaned back, closing his eyes.

"Bureaucracy," moaned Char, "It's just a bunch of red tape waiting to happen."

The group started to get more nervous as time ticked away on the atomic clock. Lizzy started pacing, Richard rubbed his hands together, and Will began listening to messages on his comm.

"Would you like me to read you one message from: The GCS Board of Directors?" queried the comm.

"Go right ahead," said Will, eager to hear what was taking them so long.

"Dear Mr. Saper:

Regarding the spill in your lab a few days ago: we have found reason to believe it may have posed a potential threat to the health of your lab team. We are beginning testing for G. Pestis and will not finish until about 30:32. Please convey our deepest regrets to the assembled committee, and inform them that we will not be available until after the quarantine process is complete.

Sincerely,

The GCS Board of Directors."

"And that's all that's in the message?" Will demanded.

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you," he said perfunctorily, and prepared to tell everyone the bad news.

"What's up?" asked Char as soon as she saw his face.

"The lab's under investigation. Apparently a spill a few days ago may have endangered the scientists, so it's currently under quarantine. As the board is helping out there until 30:32, we're not going to get any help from them," replied Will.

"Shouldn't you be over there then?" asked Lizzy, genuinely concerned.

"I'd probably just be in the way," said Will bitterly, "The board likes to run their own ship."

"But what if you've been infected?" asked Richard, "They're going to want to check you, right?"

Will just shook his head, and the group stared forlornly at the ground in silent contemplation.

The president was, as nearly always, optimistic. "Come on, just because you can't get the board over here doesn't mean you can't get funding! You could... Well... Hold a bake sale!"

"A bake sale?" said Lizzy tiredly, "You're suggesting a bake sale to save the entire galaxy?"

"No, I think I can do something about the funding issue, actually," said Will, "It'll just involve lots of negotiating."

-/-

As nightfall on D'lus drew nearer, Lizzy began to lose hope. "Any news on that war yet?" she asked Richard.

"It's still going on," he muttered, "Do you think it would be over in a day? If so, you're crazy."

"C'mon, I just want to find a hotel and snooze," groaned Char, "Sitting here waiting for Will to finish talking to some stuffy old diplomats is making my brains come out of my ears."

"We don't have enough funding to even get a ham sandwich at this point," said Richard, "Do you think we're going to be able to stay in some fancy intergalactic hotel?"

"Nah," said Char, "But it was worth a try."

"You gotta give the guy a break," said Richard softly, "His lab's just been overrun by a bunch of mad scientists."

"If we get out of here soon, you owe me a ham sandwich," said Char. She poked Richard. "You made me think of them, and now I'm hungry."

"Will?" asked Lizzy.

"Yeah?" he said, fiddling with the comms unit absentmindedly.

"Can you continue your calls back at our ship? Char's getting hungry, and frankly, I'm a bit tired," she replied.

"Sure," he said, "I've nearly got us a million unis if all goes well."

"Wha- You didn't enter it into the Plague-Buster contest, did you?" said Lizzy.

"Zooks, no!" said Will, "I just know a couple of people."

"You're gonna have to explain that to me later," said Lizzy, "Right now, I think we're going to head to the ship for some Galaxyway take-out."

"Was this the thing about the ham sandwiches?" asked Will curiously.

"It's a long story..." said Lizzy.


End file.
